I Was Made to Love You
by ProphecyS
Summary: The Aphrodite cabin calls down on a curse on the warring kids of Ares, causing them to fall in love with the first person they see. And Clarisse has her eyes on Percy. Now, Percy and friends must break the curse before it becomes permanent
1. Full Summary, Chapters, and Characters

I WAS MADE TO LOVE YOU Summary

After the Aphrodite Cabin casts a love spell on the children of Ares, things go terrible wrong! They are falling in love with the first person they see and Clarisse has her eyes set on Percy! So, now Percy and his friends must figure out a way to break the spell and the journey takes them to a poetry corner in Brooklyn, to the home of a demon on the Upper East Side, and even into the realm of the Olympians. They have until midnight or the spell becomes permanent and that's the last thing Percy wants is the daughter of Ares swooning over him, while he's trying to get things moving with our favorite daughter of Athena.

Characters

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena

Grover Underwood, the satyr

Clarisse La Ru, daughter of Ares

Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite

Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus

Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter

Jordan Ra, son of Apollo

Skip, the demon

Aphrodite, goddess of love

Chapters

1. I Get Into A Walking Argument

2. I Enter The Love Shack

3. War Falls For Me

3. We Meet The Richest Demon

4. I Listen To Poetry

5. A Goddess Gives Us A Mission

6. I Get A Package Delivered

7. I See My Reflection


	2. I Have A Walking Argument

Chapter One

I Get Into A Walking Argument

I love Camp Half-Blood!

I gotta say, it's my most favorite place in the world. No other place beats it! Not downtown New York, L.A., or the inside of fiery monsters (and trust me I've been in all of them). Nope. Not one. As I arrived at the top of Half-Blood Hill, I looked at the familiar pine tree that protected the borders. My friend, Thalia, daughter of Zeus, was off on some world wind adventure with the goddess Artemis and the other Hunters. I envied Thalia sometimes (who wouldn't if you could be immortal), but hanging out with a group of middle school girls for eternity wasn't my idea of a good time. I crossed over and headed toward the cabin area. As I walked by, I glanced at few of my good friends.

Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, was a pretty seventeen year-old girl, with red hair and green eyes, with a splash of freckles across her nose. She was in the common's area of the cabins in front of a pile of dirt. She wore a white apron and had on gardening gloves. She waved her hand over the dirt and suddenly, flowers began to bloom. Guess being a child of the earth goddess gives you an automatic green thumb.

"Hey Katie," I said, walking passed toward cabin three.

She looked up and beamed.

"Lovely isn't it?" she said, admiring her work and getting to her feet. "I think I'm going to be doing some personal decorating for the summer. What do you think?"

"Uh," I said, slowly. The last time Katie tried _personal decoration_, three campers ended up in the Big House with poison ivy. I looked over and saw Annabeth, walking out of cabin six, which was right next to Katie's cabin. I used that as an excuse to end our conversation and hurried over to her.

"It's about time you got here, Seaweed Brain."

That's how Annabeth said she's happy to see me.

"Nice to see you, too," I said, throwing my duffle bag over my shoulder. Annabeth was staring at me, like she always did when she was lost in thought and every time I asked what she was thinking about she'd respond, "A strategy."

Suddenly, there was a loud yell and a bang and the entire common's area burst into flames. I was shocked and for a second thought a monster was attacking until I saw Beckendorf run into a fight with a boy named Scott from the Ares cabin. They were battling so fiercely, with flames flickering around them, no one paid any notice, except Katie. She let a horrified shriek.

"Don't get that fire on my flowers again, Beckendorf! I'm so sick of you and that flame bomb of yours!" she yelled.

"Sorry," grunted Beckendorf, deflecting Scott's sword attack. "But war is war Kate!"

"Why should my tulips suffer!"

Scott was fighting with anger on his face. Then I noticed, he wasn't the only one. There were two more Ares fighters fighting across the common area. I didn't know there names, but I think they were Mikell and Tim. Mikell was a toned girl with a great left hook. She was fighting a boy from the Apollo cabin named Jordan Ra. Jordan was handsome with sandy hair, a brilliant smile like a poster child for toothpaste. He was smiling even now as he dodged a kick from Mikell. And the other Ares kid, Tim, was fighting a girl I remembered was one of Annabeth's sisters, her name was Sora. She was cute, but I thought Annabeth was prettier.

"What's going on?" I finally asked, when no one bothered to break up the fight.

"It's been going on for weeks," she explained. "With the summer solstice approaching, the Ares kids are stepping up their battle tactics. Their doing it to impress their dad, so that one of them might get his blessing in the coming war. It's a little irritating really. They'll sneak up on you without warning and either your quick enough to fight back or you end up in the Big House with a broken arm or a cut across the chest."

"Wow," I said, shocked. All of this for a blessing from Ares…must be some blessing, I figured.

"Yeah," said Annabeth. "Half of them have been at it. Yesterday, they put Jillian from Hephaestus in the Big House. She's still unconscious."

Suddenly, there was a rumble of thunder and water began to drizzle from the sky. Now, camp never had bad weather. I looked up, confused, and then Annabeth pointed toward the Big House and said, "Mr. D." The flames extinguished as the rain came down harder and Annabeth and I retreated under her cabin's roof. The campers ran from the commons back toward their respective cabins. Katie looked venomous at her dreary tulips she'd just created.

"It's all he can do to stop the constant fighting. He doesn't want to stop them, you know how he is, less campers the better and all that. But sometimes, like now, for instance, it can get out of hand."

The rain stopped and the sun shone down brightly as it had done seconds before.

The door to cabin ten burst open and out walked six girls. All of them were beautiful and seemed to cause a stop of activities as they walked by. The satyrs and campers who'd been playing volleyball stopped and stared at them.

"Hi Percy," winked the girl at the head of the line, as they passed on their way toward the Pegasus stables. It was Silena Beauregard. She was seriously beautiful and she flung her long blonde hair over her shoulder, catching the sun in her hair.

"Hey Silena," I said, watching her go.  
"Done staring, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said, a little angrily.

"Huh?" I said, and had just realized I'd been standing with her for a moment. She looked mad and stormed off.

"Annabeth, wait! WAIT!"

"If you want to watch the girls of Aphrodite, Percy, then you should join all the other boys at the stables!" she shot at me. And as she said it, boys from Demeter, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Hermes were already heading in that direction. I watched them go, a little enviously.

"I don't!" I said, hotly. I didn't get why she always got upset when other girls tried to talk to me. Well, I sort of knew, but come on―it's not like―there was no way―I mean, uh, whatever!

I chased after her, trying to explain, when I got bombarded by two Ares campers.

"Please guys," I said, calmly. "Not now."

"Now is the perfect time, Prissy."

I turned around and saw my old enemy/friend Clarisse stepping toward me in full battle armor. She was holding her electric spear which crackled with red electricity.

"Time to die!"


	3. I Enter The Love Shack

Chapter Two

I Enter the Love Shack

Come on!" I yelled, uncapping Riptide.

Clarisse smiled and held her spear in a firm grip. She attacked like a speeding cheetah. She would've killed me, if I hadn't been trained. I deflected the spear with the flat of my blade. She tried a jab, but I was able to move out of her reach. She tried a punch, a kick, but she couldn't lay a hand on me. I was just too fast.

"What's the matter, Clarisse," I said, breathing hard. "Daddy isn't showing you the real art of war?"

She snarled like a wild animal and tackled me. We landed on Katie's flowers, but I pushed her back. I looked for Riptide, which had flown from my hand when Clarisse knocked the wind out of me. It was lying underneath a statue of Hera. I hurried over to it and grabbed it just in time. Clarisse was about to bring her electric spear down on my head! I raised my blade and there was a flash of red electricity and sparks. A severe jolt went up my arm, but I shook it off as I kicked her legs from underneath her.

I heard giggling and looked over and saw some of the Aphrodite girls had come back. They were watching with great interest.

"What," Clarisse said, getting up quickly, "Prissy worried about looking like a fool?"

"You're the fool," I said, lamely. Then, I looked over at the fountain. I held out my hand toward it and felt the familiar tug in my stomach and watched as the water gushed out of it and sprayed Clarisse. Her hair was splattered against her face, making her look even uglier than before.

"You son of the sea god!" she roared in anger.

Wind rustled through the commons area and Clarisse looked up, curiously. There was a loud rumble from overhead. She looked back at me and said, "Next, someone's gonna leave this bloody. And it won't be me."

"Right back at ya," I muttered.

I picked up my duffle bag and headed toward my cabin.

"That was amazing," said one of the Aphrodite girls. I think her name was Marielle. She had long curly brown hair and looked like she was on her way to play tennis, in her short mini skirt and polo.

"Thanks," I said. "It's Marielle, right?"

"Yeah," she said, flinging her hair over her shoulder. All of Aphrodite's daughters did that. Silena told me it was called a lure. You see, Aphrodite's kids, have serious love and beauty magic. You don't want to get them mad or you might find yourself in insanely in love with a strawberry or your underwear a little too tight. There was this one time when Connor Stoll had stolen Silena's Gucci bag that she'd gotten from Italy and she made fall in love with his own reflection for a week. It was actually hard to watch, seeing him adore and talk to himself every time he caught a glance in the lake, mirrors in the showers, or even at mealtimes in his spoon.

"Well," I said, hurried. "I'm really tired. Big fight and all need some rest."

"Rest," said one of her sisters. "But you just got here. Don't you want to sit and talk with us for a while? We won't bite."

"Trust me," I said, entering my cabin, "that's not what I'm worried about."

And I closed the door behind me.

I laid in my bunk in cabin three all by myself. Annabeth was officially not talking to me and I had only been at Camp Half-Blood a few hours! It wasn't even time for lunch and I'd already gotten her mad. Lucky me. Tyson was at Poseidon's palace for the summer, making more cool weapons, so I wouldn't be able to see him until camp was over. I guess I could send him an Iris message later on. I made a mental note to do that. Then, my mind wandered to Grover. He was off recruiting other half-bloods in Arizona. I missed him. I hadn't seen him since spring when he turned up at Goode and I helped him kill a monster down in a sewer tunnel that had kidnapped a nine year-old son of Apollo.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Thinking about me, are you?"

I sat up quickly and saw Grover walking into my cabin.

"Grover!" I said, surprised, yet pleased. "I thought your mission wasn't over till July?"

"Well, Mr. D. told me I'd been all over the United States and that I needed a break," he said, then added, "And threatened to turn me into a vegetable if I refused."

He looked kind of nervous.

"What's up?" I asked, staring at him.

"Nothing," Grover said, quickly.

"No," I said, "you have something face. Spill."

Grover sat at the end of my bed. "Something's happened. In―in Olympus."

That wasn't good. Last time something happened in Olympus, I was blamed and almost killed by three different gods.

"What?" I pressed.

"Aphrodite's mirror has gone missing," he said, quickly, closing his eyes really tight like he was going to be blown up instantly. He cracked one open and when he realized he was still alive, he went on. "The mirror was her most prized possession and someone's stolen it."

"A demigod," I said, knowing that only we could take the symbol of powers from the gods.

Grover shrugged.

"Not sure," he said. "There isn't a big fuss about it though because it went missing back in the 1800s."

"1800s?!" I interjected. "And she's mad still?"

"Gods are very temperamental, Percy," Grover said. "You know that. Aphrodite didn't really care that much about the mirror back then, but she does now and she's threatening some major retribution on the culprit."

"What can the mirror do?" I asked.

"The Mirror of Evol has the ability to channel the forces that drive love," Grover explained, "and force the holder to see his future love. It's filled with different kinds of complex love magic and you know how dangerous love is to mess with.. I don't even want to imagine who has the mirror now."

I heard the sound of walking and gossiping right outside my window. I went over to it and pulled the curtain back. I saw all of the Aphrodite kids, except Silena. I saw about a dozen girls and five boys go into their cabin, suspiciously. I looked at Grover.

"I think we should find out what's going on in cabin ten," I said. Something was up. The Aphrodite kids were never, _never_, never, shut up in their cabin. They spent most of their time in the stables or by the lake. Going into their cabin the middle of the day was definitely something to look into. Most people wouldn't worry. They'd probably just think their checking their looks, they did that all the time. But lucky for me, I'm not most people.

"Why?" Grover asked.

"Just a hunch," I said, going over to the door.

"I hate your hunches!" moaned Grover. "Half the time, they turn out to be right!"

Grover and I crept across the commons, and he was looking a little nervous.

"What is it?" I asked him, watching his antsy movements.

"Just that," he said, looking around, "I don't want Juniper seeing me around the Aphrodite cabin. She's a little jealous."

I rolled my eyes and kept going.

All of the cabins at Camp Half-Blood were pretty awesome compared to the cabins at other summer camps I'd heard of. You see, the cabins are specifically designed so that you'd know right off which cabin belonged to which god. Hermes was the only one that looked ordinary, but I think it was because he welcomed so many travelers, so you're bound to get a little run down. Anyway, we approached cabin ten, the Aphrodite cabin. It reeked of that designer perfume I hated so much. Grover's nose twitched and his face softened.

"Love magic," he whispered to me.

"Dude, you're freaking me out," I said.

"Sorry," he murmured.

The Aphrodite cabin had a purple roof, with platinum colored walls, and a checkerboard painted deck. It was pretty stylish. According to Annabeth, when the Hunters burned down all the cabins back in 1982, a son of Athena redesigned all of them, including mine.

I peered into one of the windows. I had been inside the Aphrodite cabin before and it still amazed me. There was a runway like in exquisite fashion shows, running down the center, the bunk beds were pushed up against the walls and each one had a footlocker, which was enchanted to hold all of their possessions. Mirrors hung on every wall so no matter where you turned you could always catch your reflection.

Sitting on the runway were all of the campers, except Silena who must've been at the Pegasus stable still. All of them had joined hands and were rocking side to side, like when the Apollo kids led the sing-a-longs in the amphitheater. They were saying something I couldn't make out.

"Something about magic," Grover said, listening hard. "Love….war…a _hymn_!"

I didn't know what a hymn was, but I could tell by his face that it was bad. Then, I looked in and saw a strange reddish pink glow in their circle. The hymn seemed to speed up. Then, something touched my back and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around and saw Annabeth.

"Why are you two spying?" she asked.

"Not spying," said Grover. "Hi Annabeth! It's good to see you!"

"Grover," she said, "you're a horrible liar."

"No, I'm not!" he said, a little upset. "Okay, maybe just a little. But Percy made me do it and it really is good to see you!"

"I---I---nice going G man!" I stammered. Our cover was blown. I was about to walk off, not wanting to give Annabeth the satisfaction of telling me off, when suddenly, the hymn from inside the cabin stopped and the front door burst open. I was sure that we were busted, but I only smelled more of that perfume. Then, a jet of pink light shot out of the cabin, did an arc into the air, and came crashing down on the barbed roof of the Ares cabin.

Silena came running up, her blue eyes locked on the sky where the light had reached. Her gaze lowered to her cabin and her face was white with shock.

"This is bad."

And I knew if a child of Aphrodite said something was bad, it truly had to be.


	4. War Falls For Me

Chapter Three

War Falls For Me

Oh no!" Silena said again. She rushed over to her opened cabin and stepped inside. Grover, Annabeth, and I eased our way around to the front and listened in.

The Aphrodite campers got to their feet, some looking smug, others looking completely satisfied.

"What have you done?" demanded Silena.

"Nothing," said one of her brothers.

"Nothing like not wearing teal this summer or nothing like just casting a curse without the permission of your counselor nothing?" said Silena.

"Definitely the second one," said one of her sisters. "We just wanted to have fun this summer with the Ares cabin. That's all. It's no big deal, Silena."

"It is a big deal! What kind of curse, Olivia?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking like a mother whose just caught her children in the wrong.

"This one," said Marielle, holding out a crumpled piece of parchment. "I found it in the attic and had Malcolm in Athena's cabin translate it."

Silena looked over her shoulder and said, "Annabeth, do you read Latin?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, going into the cabin. "Greek and Latin mixed during ancient times. Let me see it." Her gray eyes began to scan down the parchment and then she said, "Oh my gods."

"What does it say?" I asked.

"'_Visum of Amor_'," she said. "Sight of Love. It's ancient hymn that was used by children of Aphrodite to help create love."

"Wait," I said. "You can't create love."

"Clearly," said one of her brothers. "You don't know anything about love, Percy."

"Bryan!" Silena said defensively.

"I'm serious," Bryan went on. "The son of the sea god doesn't feel it the way we do. We're only giving back. You've seen the Ares kids….can you say fashion disasters and makeovers yay? No one over there is ever going to get a boy-or girlfriend without a little help."

"Even if that is true," Silena considered, "that's still not an excuse for casting that curse.

Annabeth was staring hard at the parchment, like she was still deciphering it. "There's another piece here. At the bottom. _Admonito properius per luna_. Did anyone of you say that in the curse?"

"What?" said Marielle. "No. I didn't even notice it."

"I'd better go back to my cabin and look over my books," she said. "I don't know what this means exactly, but I think it's some kind of warning. I've read about the Visum of Amor and there's a piece―I hope I'm wrong, though."

"Do that," said Silena. "Thank-you."

"Come with me," she said to Grover and I.

As we were leaving I heard Bryan say, "We just wanted to turn this into the summer of love!"

"That was the _worst_ fashion summer!" Silena yelled back.

"Is it really that bad?" I asked, as we hurried after Annabeth. Just as we were walking up the row of even cabins toward six, the door to the Ares cabin opened and twenty campers spilled out. They looked like they were about ready to fight again, but then caught sight of campers as they walked by.

"Hi, Tim!" called Mikell, as she watched Tim Nylan pass by from the Hermes cabin and she chased after him.

Sora was walking across the commons, with her nose in a book. Jerome, from Ares, ran up to her and put his arm around her. She looked up and took his arm off her shoulder and turned it around behind him with amazing agility. Jerome let out a squawk of pain.

"Guess love really does hurt," Grover said, watching.

"What are you playing at, Jerome?" asked Sora.

"Not playing," grunted Jerome, "just wanted to know if we could go for a walk down by the beach."

She let him go in shock.

"What's going on?" asked Beckendorf coming up to us. He had on his forge gloves, and oil was smeared across his forehead.

"Hey Beckendorf," said Neena from the Ares cabin. She was a thick girl, with long braided black hair. She had a deep tan. "How are you?"

"Good, Neena," said Beckendorf.

"Well, listen Beckendorf―Charles―what are you doing after dinner?"

"Going back into the armory," he said. "I'm working on a―"

"Oh no!"

Silena marched over to his us, grabbing Neena by her arm and swirling her around to face her.

"Get your love sick mitts off Charlie!" she demanded. "He is off limits!"

"I am?" Beckendorf said, taken aback, but slightly pleased.

"Their under a spell, Beckendorf," said Annabeth. "A love spell."

"That would be bad," he said.

"That _is_ bad," she corrected.

I noticed that more of the Ares cabin seemed to be following specific campers around. Benny was watching intensely as Katie tended to her garden in the commons area. The Aphrodite campers were now entering the commons and the boys of Ares took notice as the girls walked by. Some of them even were going to chase after them. And I could even see Lila, another daughter of Ares, trying to flirt with Tara from Apollo.

"Annabeth," I asked, "what does the hymn exactly say?"

She squinted a bit. I forgot she was dyslexic too.

"_We beech all powers above_, _to help the lonely find their love_. _May they be awakened by the light_, _and seek love on first sight_."

"Let go off me!" said Neena, getting out Silena's hold. She pulled out her sword and pointed it at Silena's chest. "Get out of my way. Charles and I have things to discuss."

"Charlie!" said Silena, over her shoulder. "Tell her something!"

"Um," said Beckendorf. "Neena….put the sword down, please."

"Of course," Neena perked up. "Anything for you, Charles."

"Great," he said. "How about this? Go back to your cabin and wait for me to come find you."

"Okay," she said, flashing him a brilliant smile. "I will wait for you as long as it takes."

"Good." And Beckendorf returned the smile.

Neena gave Silena an evil look and walked away, a little pep in her step as she went.

"So," I said, "the Ares campers are falling for the first camper they see."

"Love isn't physical," Annabeth said, looking around. "It's mental. They are clearly going about this the wrong way."

"How can you say that?" said Silena. "Love is a physical force that drives humanity."

"And it's going to drive the Ares cabin into insanity if we don't fix this."

"This," she said, "coming from a brain child."

"At least I'm wise enough to know the difference between heart and mind, which, if the Aphrodite kids knew how to separate, we wouldn't even be in this mess."

"Stop!" I interjected, as Silena opened her mouth to protest. "This isn't about what kind of love this is. It's about breaking this curse and getting everyone back to normal."

"This is so totally all my fault," Silena finally said.

"No," I said. "It's not. You couldn't have stopped them. A curse this powerful won't be broken easily, either."

Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and was looking at Clarisse. She looked shy, almost coy. Her hair was straightened and she moved some of it behind her ear.

"Hi, Percy," she said, quietly.

"Ah, hey," I said, awkwardly.

"Well," she went on, "I came over to apologize for what I did to you earlier. I shouldn't have tried to kill you, even if it's for some blessing from my dad. Your way cooler than some blessing."

Oh crap!

"Clarisse," I said, slowly, trying not to make her mad, "I don't know what your feeling, but it's not love. At least, not the real kind of love. It's fake. You know, imaginative. Not real."

"How can you say that?"

She wasn't getting mad at me, but looked as though I had said some funny joke.

"Of course my love for you is real," said Clarisse, putting a hand over her heart. I wanted to laugh, because Clarisse being romantic was too funny, but actually seeing it took the humor right out of it. "I was made to love you."


	5. We Meet The Richest Demon

CHAPTER FOUR

WE MEET THE RICHEST DEMON

No," I said, hastily as Clarisse approached me. "You really weren't made to love me. Trust me—it's all some kind of illusion."

Clarisse chuckled.

"My heart is racing as I get closer to you," she said, moving forward and reaching out to touch my face. I backed up really quick and found myself hiding behind Annabeth, which I realized looked a little wimpy, so I stood up, and cleared my throat.

"Clarisse," I said, looking her dead in the eyes. "I want you to go to the Big House and get Chiron. Please."

"Anything for you." Clarisse winked and sprinted off across camp.

"This is a disaster," said Silena, watching Clarisse go, and the other campers around the common area.

"Isn't there anything you could do?" Beckendorf asked her. "I mean, don't the Aphrodite kids have some degree of love magic like your mom."

"Yeah," said Silena, putting her hands on her hips, looking agitated. "But it's not enough to break the curse on all of them."

"Evol," said Annabeth, excitedly.

Everyone turned to look at her, not comprehending the word she'd just said.

"What about evil?" said Grover.

"No!" she said. "Not evil with an _i_! Evol with an_ o_."

"Still not following—" I said, but was caught off the sound of galloping hooves and the looming figure of Chiron, Clarisse bustling behind him.

"Clarisse told me it was urgent," he said, looking down at us.

Silena explained to him about the curse that her campers cast and Annabeth showed him the last line of the curse written in Latin. He's eyes opened wide and his tail shuffled uncomfortably.

"Do you know what it means?" I asked.

"_Admonito properius per luna_," he said, folding the parchment. "It is a warning that this curse shall be permanent at midnight of the full moon, which is tonight in twelve hours."

"Permanent," repeated Silena, pained.

"Full moon," said Annabeth, her mind racing.

"Twelve hours," I said, as Clarisse waved at me vigorously from Chiron's left flank.

"This curse was cast in the 1960s by children of Aphrodite," said Chiron. "In San Francisco."

"The summer of love," said Silena and Annabeth.

"Yes," said Chiron, gravely. "The love magic spread across the entire world and it took almost a decade to repair the damage."

"Apollo and disco," said Grover.

"This spell was band and was retrieved by a son of Apollo in 1969," said Chiron.

"So, how do we break it?" I asked. "Do we get some of the Apollo campers to throw a disco night in the amphitheater?"

"No," said Annabeth. "This is what I've been trying to say to you guys all along. We need the Evol—the great mirror of Dorean!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Oh my gods, Seaweed Brain, don't you sea demigods do anything but swim?" she said, which kind of annoyed me. "Dorean was a son of Aphrodite who went on a quest with Hercules to the Land of the Amazons! Dorean was given a special mirror which had love properties originally a gift from Hephaestus to Aphrodite. It had the power to make the seer fall in love, fall out of love, or even see their true love's reflection."

"That's right I remember that story," said Silena, wistfully. "It was so romantic!"

"Tragic you mean," said Annabeth. "Dorean used the mirror on the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, and made her fall in love with Hercules, who ended up killing her because Hera made her subjects think he was going to kill their queen. And Dorean didn't even get the credit for helping him in the myths!"

"That's love," Silena said.

"Whatever," said Annabeth, rolling her eyes. "If we could get the mirror of Evol here before midnight we could use it on the infected campers."

"Where do we even start looking?" I asked. "It's been—what—three thousand years, give or take a century. How are we suppose to find a mirror like that?"

"There is a demon I know," said Chiron.

"A demon?" said Beckendorf.

"He is a gentle creature, not harmful," Chiron explained. "A neutral being that has been very useful to demigods through the ages. If you sought him out, I believe he might help you rediscover this lost mirror."

"Where was he seen last?" I asked.

"Last time I checked," said Chiron, "he lives in New York. I have the address at the Big House."

We were already wasting time. Beckendorf and Grover decided to stay behind and deal with the lovesick Ares kids. They recruited Jordan Ra from the Apollo cabin to sing a hymn to his dad to help get some of their minds of love, but I didn't know much of an effect it would have. If you heard disco music, you'd wanna break up with someone too, and I doubt Jordan's modern lyrics would have the same affect.

Annabeth, Silena, Clarisse and I were heading to Brooklyn to find this demon friend of Chiron's. Clarisse wouldn't leave me alone and didn't take no for an answer and threatened to maim and kill every camper until I got back.

"It's best to just humor her, Percy," Chiron explained as he watched Clarisse. "Her love is obsessive, almost destructive. We don't want anymore incidences here. Katie Gardner has already put Benny Talmyn in the infirmary with poison ivy. And Stephen from Athena had to use a battle strategy to get Julianna to leave him be. I emplor you to hurry on your quest before this summer and every summer after that becomes the summer of love for the poor Ares cabin."

The sooner we got this mission over with, the sooner everyone at Camp Half-Blood would get back to normal, I thought. Chiron gave us the address and had Argus, the camp driver, drop us off. And I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the place.

We were on the Upper East Side, in a front of a large up scale looking apartment complex where only the rich and really famous live.

"A demon can't live here," said Annabeth, checking the address.

"He has expensive taste that's for sure," said Silena, in awe.

I stepped over to the doorman and said, "We're here to see Skip Démon."

"Mr. Démon, eh?" grunted the doorman. "Is he expecting you?"

"Totally," said Silena, stepping forward. She brought herself up to her fullest height and flung her dark hair over shoulders and gave him a brilliant smile that would've made me go weak in the knees, if Annabeth hadn't been glaring at me or Clarisse hanging onto my arm, swearing her undying affection for me in a faint whisper.

"Yes, miss," said the doorman, staring at Silena, as though he was looking at something far more appealing. "Mr. Démon, penthouse suite. Have a safe trip up."

"Thanks," winked Silena, as we all bustled into the beautiful lobby.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Minor love trick," said Silena, catching her reflection in the polished chrome elevator doors. "Let him see what he wants to see and drool for a moment."

The doors opened.

"Percy makes me drool," said Clarisse. And a thundering chill went down my spine and the thought itself made my skin tingle. Annabeth stifled a giggle, which she made look like a cough but I knew better. We entered the elevator and I punched the 25th floor, which had a small P for penthouse underneath it. We shot upward and before I knew it, the elevators opened and we were staring into a lavish living room, with plush and cozy couches and chairs, with great paintings along the walls and antiques that would've made my mother have a heart attack. She loved antinque stuff and was always trying to drag me and her boyfriend, Paul Blofis to museums to see them.

We weren't alone in the penthouse because the owner had just materialized in front of us.

Standing with his arms open wide, was a humanoid figure, kind of stout with a pot belly protruding from his expensive looking blue bathrobe. He had green scaly skin, dirty talons for fingernails, and yellow eyes, with spines running down his skull to the base of his head. He gave a pointy welcoming smile and said, "Welcome half-bloods. I'm Skip. What can I do ya for?"


	6. I Listen To Poetry

CHAPTER FIVE

I LISTEN TO POETRY

Before any of us could say a word, Clarisse charged forward, grabbed Skip by the throat with one hand and pushed him down onto a table, which made all of its contents rattle. Typical of an Ares child, under a love spell or not. Still highly dangerous, especially when it comes to demons—good bad or neutral.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth shouted, rushing forward, but she just pushed her away and turned to look at me with an adoring grin.

"I won't let this monster hurt you, sweet weed," she said. "I'll kill him for you!"

"What?!" said Skip, shocked. "Kill?! Now, now, you don't wanna do that! Hey, kid, get her off me!"

"Clarisse," I said, gently, resting my hands on her big shoulders. She seemed to loose tension at my touch, which freaked me out. Oh, I needed this curse to break, fast! "We need him."

"That's right," gasped Skip. "Need me!"

Clarisse let him go and surprisingly through her arms around me, which almost made me gag.

"I didn't want him to hurt you," she cried into my shoulder. "I love you so much, Percy. I'm sorry!"

"Aww," said Silena, next to me. "That is the cutest thing! Annabeth isn't that—"

Whatever Annabeth thought, it was the farthest thing from the cutest. Her face was almost unreadible.

I released Clarisse. I didn't know why Annabeth was getting upset at all. To her, this whole thing was a joke and something new for her to laugh at me. Well, she wasn't laughing now. I didn't know why, but my mind began to wander off for a second and I found myself staring at her. There was a sharp snap and I came back. Silena and Clarisse were looking at me curiously.

"You okay?" asked Silena.

"Percy, my sea prince, maybe you should sit down," suggested Clarisse. "Do you want water? I know you like water."

"No," I responded, looking over at Skip. "I don't want anything. All I want is to know where we can find the mirror of Evol that Dorean had to end this mess."

"Mirror of Evol?" said Skip, stroking his scaly chin. "Dorean you say? Good looking lad, betrayed by the gods after he helped Hercules with old Hippolyta?"

"Yeah," said Silena, brightly.

"That's been lost for years, kid."

"I thought it was stolen?" I said, recalling my conversation with Grover earlier today about the Mirror of Evol.

"Aphrodite lost the darn thing after it was returned by a half-blood in 1802," said Skip. "Don't believe everything you hear kid."

"What?" said Annabeth. "But we need it to help save our camp from turning into the love boat on land!"

"Well," said Skip, "maybe you should've thought of that before casting the curse now shouldn't ya? I don't like getting myself messed up in demigod affairs. Last time, I didn't reform for 164 years and I'd rather not be on the end of anyone's celestial bronze."

"But you're our only hope," said Silena, batting her eyelashes. "Isn't there anything you could do?"

Skip looked at Silena and huffed.

"Daughters of Aphrodite," he muttered almost to himself. "There is one place I could take you that might get the answers you want."

"Really," I said, curiously. "Where?"

"It's a cruel and evil place," said Skip. "No one every goes there unless their looking for something important."

"Sounds dangerous and creepy," said Silena.

"Percy, boo, do you want to stay here and I'll go with Skip and the others?" said Clarisse to me. The nickname "boo" got under my skin more than Annabeth calling me "Seaweed Brain", which I'll admit, I kind of like coming from her. But NOT Clarisse.

"I'm going," I said. "Where is the place, Skip?"

"Let me grab my coat," said the demon, rushing off to his bedroom. "I'll take you right there."

I was prepared to battle fierce monsters, demon cheerleaders, or giants. I wasn't expecting to be standing in the back of a cafe in the Village, where couples sat together and looked up at a small stage, where a guy was standing. He recited a poem:

"A thousand fair suitors all stab at your heart  
Those poets of movement and jockeys of art  
The high-volume vendors who hustle romance  
Splashing their canvas with color and dance

The blasters of trumpets, gold banners unfurled  
They offer lush gardens in glistening worlds  
Yes, bearers of torches and carvers of stone  
Who whisper their sonnets and surrender their thrones

And there in your doorway, no shadow is cast  
No lingering voices, no ghosts from the past  
Just a cluster of walls, and a window of pain  
Collecting the heartache like droplets of rain

Still I stand before you, with palms to the sky  
No gold in my pocket, no thorn in my side  
And all I can offer, where words have no place  
Is a body that trembles, and this love that awaits"

The crowd burst into applause and I was about to walk out when Clarisse grabbed my arm in a firm grip and said, "Sea doodle, where are you going?"

"This can't be right," I said.

"It is kid," said Skip. "You need to know these things from the source."

"That was amazing, Colt!" cheered Silena, as the guy left the stage. We all looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I come here alot." She continued to clap until it died down.

"So," said Annabeth, looking around the cafe, "what are we suppose to actually find here? More poems?"

"The source of it, half-blood," said Skip. He glanced around nervously like he was looking for something. He led them across the stable to an empty circular table near the stage and ordered them coffee from a passing waitress. "I'll pay. It's been a while since I was in this joint. Poems and old love songs aren't really my style."

Clarisse tried to lace her fingers through mine as we sat together, but I balled up my fist to prevent it. I was NOT going to look like I was on a date with her, even if Annabeth was sitting right next to me not saying a word, which was just unlike her. I didn't understand her problem. I wish she would just be blunt with me like she always was and just talk to me about what was zooming through that brain of hers. Clarisse wasn't making my situation with Annabeth any better. She kept trying to put her arm around me, or cuddle up to me, which was an invasion of my personal space. I wanted to command her to go back to Camp Half-Blood, but she would only try and talk me out of it. Ugh! This was so frustrating. I didn't have a clue what to do and Skip seemed to be leading us nowhere.

The waitress brought our drinks and Skip gave her a few bills and she went away.

Suddenly, a smell like honey and roses filled the room. I turned my head toward the door, which had been blown open. My mouth dropped. The most beautiful young woman I had ever seen walked into the cafe. Everyone's head turned to her like she was a celebrity, but she made even the hottest celebrity look bad. I don't know how the girlfriends of the guys who were staring at her, were reacting, but they couldn't take their eyes off her either.

She wore a simple red dress, with matching shoes, and blood red lipstick. Her blonde hair fell in a cascade of ringlets around her shoulders down to her bosom. Her makeup was picture perfect and diamond earrings dangled from her ears. I could've sworn the woman was Annabeth, just a few years older with dazzling features and makeup, but the real Annabeth sat next to me, looking stunned at the arrival of the woman.

She stepped further into the room and her brilliant blue eyes looked directly at our table.

"Oh my gods," said Annabeth.

"That's—" began Clarisse.

"My mom," said Silena, checking her reflection a mirror to make sure her hair was perfect, which it was.

"Yep," said Skip. "Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. If you really wanna know about her Evol Mirror—now's the time to ask her."

"Great," I muttered. And I wandered how long it would take her to blast us, until she got bored with our looks.


	7. A Goddess Gives Us A Mission

CHAPTER 5

A GODDESS GIVES US A MISSION

Aphrodite gasped dramatically, which made everyone look over in fright. She scanned the room and everyone's eyes lowered as they watched her. Some of the men with their dates looked about ready to jump her right there and take her to the nearest chapel. And honestly, if Annabeth and (unfortunately) Clarisse, weren't next to me, I might be trying to do it myself.

She walked over to us, a wide grin on her beautiful face.

"Demigods!" she said, excitedly.

"Hello, Lady Aphrodite," said Skip, with a pointy grin.

The goddess batted her eyelashes and said silky, "Why, hello there, Skip. How are you? You look so pale. You should really take care of that. I have a son over at the Brooklyn Garden Spa who can work wonders with skin---"

"Demigods," said Skip, glancing at us like we were the problem.

"Yes, I see," said Aphrodite and her eyes locked with Silena, who straightened up immediately. She broke eye contact and looked down at her interwined hands. I know how she felt. It must be really awkward to be with your godly parent let alone get the opportunity to speak with them. But after our stint in Vegas (read, Percy Jackson and the Hearts On Ice by the same author, for full details), I wouldn't get why Silena would be so shy and trust me, she was never shy.

"Hi, Lady Aphrodite," said Annabeth, businesslike. The goddess turned to her.

"Ah," she said, a smile about a mile wide. "Daughter of Athena, with Percy Jackson---hmm."

"No," I said, quickly, before she could go further. "We need your help."

"Always," said Aphrodite, sitting down next to Skip. "What is it I can do for you, Percy?"

"Well," I said, staring at her. My throat got suddenly dry and then I felt a tug on my arm and realized lovesick Clarisse was still attached to me and I came back instantly. "Something happened at Camp Half-Blood." And I told her, Annabeth chiming in to the explain the boring parts, and by the time we'd finished, Aphrodite had magically summoned a nail file and was doing her nails at the table.

"I think they should be pink today," she muttered. I don't think she heard a word we said. "And I did hear everything you said."

I didn't say anything. Never knew the love goddess could read thoughts.

"You want my mirror of Evol," said Aphrodite, twirling her hair and eyeing a handsome mortal man that had walked in, curiously.

"Right," said Annabeth, clearing her throat to get the goddess's attention whose head snapped back to look at her. "But didn't you loose it?"

"I did," said Aphrodite. "In 1984 when I was in Paris! But luckily, it was returned to me by Hermes. Gotta love a god of thieves and travelers who can hunt down anything."

"That's great!" I said, loosening my grip on Clarisse.

"Percy dearest," she said, suddenly, "did I go something wrong? Do you want a backrub?"

"No," I said, through gritted teeth. I want to get this day over with. I turned to Aphrodite. "If you have it, then that means you can give it to us."

"Nothing comes without a price son of Poseidon," she said, sitting up. "First, you must do something for me."

"Like what?" I asked. "Battle demons? Go to the Underworld? Get a hair cut?"

Aphrodite laughed heartily.

"No," she said. "Not exactly. But to get a gift you must retrieve a gift---for me. It'll be dangerous to get."

"What is it?" I asked. I wondered what could be so dangerous that even a goddess would have to send demigods in her place to get.

"Don't worry, Percy, darling," chided Clarisse. "I will protect you from all of the monsters and demons."

My skin began to crawl. She was making me really uncomfortable. I looked at Aphrodite, pleadingly and asked, "Is there anything you can do about her?"

"I could try," she said. She snapped her fingers in front of Clarisse's face.

There was a small glare and when I looked at Clarisse, my mouth dropped. She was dressed in a dazzling pink dress, flat shoes, jean jacket that her ripped arms looked about ready to tear out at the seams, make-up, and diamond earrings, with her hair pulled back in a neat bun.

"I couldn't even give her a make over like that!" Silena said, in a awe.

"You'll learn, Silena," said Aphrodite, touching her arm affectionately, which Silena retracted. It didn't go unnoticed. The goddess's eyes softened a little.

"Percy," said Clarisse, with a grin. "How do I look? Do you want me now? Am I made for you better? I think I look better than Annabeth now, don't you?"

Oh gods, help me!

Annabeth's gray eyes got wide and she looked away before she could open her mouth to say anything.

I turned to Aphrodite and said, "You were suppose to stop her crazy-in-love thing? You turned her into---"

"---a babe!" inserted Skip, glancing sideways at Clarisse, who unfortunately, only had eyes for me.

"Sorry, Percy," said Aphrodite. "But that spell is beyond my power---"

"Your a goddess!" I interjected. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so heated, but how can a goddess not a break a demigod's magic? It was making me angry at how god's can moan and groan about the world's affairs, but can't do a simple thing like lift a love spell!

"---and you will need to complete my mission before I hand over my mirror."

"What is the mission?" I asked, seeing it as the only way to get any help out of Aphrodite.

"Silena," she said, looking at her daughter. "You know what it is I require. Could you please assist Percy?"

"Sure," said Silena.

"But---" began Annabeth.

I got up from the table, nearly ran to get away from Clarisse, but Annabeth's word stopped me. I really wanted her to come along, but the goddess shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, and she really sounded sorry. "But this isn't a quest for you two. That will come later. Ah, young love."

"What?" said Annabeth, immediately turning red.

"I-I-I don't---" I stammered.

But Aphrodite clearly didn't care. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Go to the Vine Street, get the package and deliver it to me and then we shall talk more about my mirror."

"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" asked Annabeth.

"I want to go with Percy!" protested Clarisse. "He needs me!"

"Of course he does, dear!" said Aphrodite. "Love is the only thing that'll keep you together!"

"Coming from you, m'lady," said Clarisse, "that means so much! You see, Percy, even Aphrodite, goddess of love, gives us her blessing!"

"Ah-huh," I said. "Great." I was sending a silent prayer to Eros aka Cupid bka Coop that he'd send one of his magic arrows to redirect any love blessings his mom was throwing my way when it came to Clarisse.

"To answer your question, Annabeth," said Aphrodite, as Silena pulled me out of the cafe toward our dangerous mission that I still knew nothing about, "we'll talk about your love life and listen to more poetry! Colt!" she added, calling across the room to Silena's poet friend, "Could you recite the poem about the girl who fell in love with the moose?"


	8. I Get A Package Delivered

Chapter Six

I Get A Package Delivered

I was so happy to get out of there before Colt could start his poem. Silena and I walked down Dalancy Avenue, where we caught a cab Uptown toward Vine Street.

"So," I said, lowering my voice so the cab driver couldn't hear us, "what's on Vine Street? Aphrodite said you know what's there."

"Yeah," she said. "I know."

"Well," I said, "what is it?"

"Percy, listen." She turned to me and strangely I never noticed just how extremely pretty Silena was. "I know you're a really good person and even better camper, but I really want to do okay with this quest. I mean, this is all my fault! It was my cabin that cast this spell and I couldn't do anything to stop them. And now, Clarisse is madly in love with you when you clearly love Annabeth-"

I made a splattering kind of noise and I guess I spit a little because Silena leaned backward, but continued, "-and my mom has shown up and I haven't seen her since I was twelve."

"Really," I said.

Silena nodded.

"My parents fell in love after my mom came into my dad's chocolate shop in the Village," she said. "My dad never found out my mom was a goddess until she showed up with me in her arms in the middle of the night. According to him, she appeared in this dazzling light that filled the room with a sweet smell of chocolate. She gave me to him and told him I had to be raised by my mortal parent because I would become a hero one day. Look at me now, all glamorous and pretty and not much skill. I suck as a hero."

"Silena," I said, "your great! You're the best Pegasus rider at camp. You're the only one who could be friends with Clarisse and almost everyone else. I think you'll be a great hero."

Her blue eyes began to water.

"Thanks," she said. "Anyway, let's go. Time to get that package and break this spell."

When we turned on Vine Street, it was already seven o'clock. Silena paid the cab driver. We got out and I had been prepared for anything. Monsters…giant dragons…and anything else the Underworld could spit out. I wasn't prepared to be walking into the middle of Fashion Week. There were photographers everywhere, flashing their cameras as models, actors, and other important looking business people walked up and down Vine Street underneath a large white tent, with another one that veered off down the block. My mouth dropped and Silena made a squealing noise at the back of her throat like she was trying to control her excitement.

"You've got to be kidding," I said, staring in complete shock.

"No," said Silena, turning to look at me. "New York Fashion Week is the most important summer event! Aphrodite is normally always welcomed as a guest because I mean she's the woman who inspires love and beauty through clothes!"

"So what are we actually picking up?" I asked, feeling my hopes of a fight completely diminish. And then I saw Tyra Bnaks. She was extremely beautiful and had an amazing smile. She waved at a photographer as she entered a galleria on the other side of the street.

"I love you Tyra!" Silena called from across the street. Tyra turned and waved and disappeared. She turned to me and said, "You know she's a daughter of Aphrodite! That practically makes us sisters."

"Yeah," I said, irritable at this point. I had expected to fight monsters, not fashion models. "Anyway, package Silena. Get back on track. We don't have long before midnight."

"Right," said Silena, scanning the crowd. She pointed toward a tall pretty Asian woman. She had long black hair down her back, a purple floral kimono, and a paper fan which covered her face. "Midoriko."

"Whose Midoriko?" I asked, lost.

"Midoriko was a timeless beauty," she said. "She was captured by Greek pirates in Japan and brought to Athens. She was rescued by Theseus, but was so distraught by being a new country."

"Wait," I said. "You said 'was', so how is she here now?"

"She was so angry that she gave her soul to Hades at the request of becoming an immortal demon," said Silena. "She killed the Greek pirates and almost killed Theseus before he came to Crete and battled the Minotaur."

I had never heard that myth before. But I know there were a lot of them and some I still had trouble believing even though I had lived through a few of them.

"What is Midoriko doing here?" I asked.

"She senses the presence of demigods," said Silena. "She hunts them and kills them for enjoyment."

"But we're the only demigods here, right," I said.

"No," said Silena, scanning the crowd again. "There are some here. But their parents are lesser gods so their able to live in the mortal world without being attracted to monsters. But Midoriko preys on the weak, just like the pirates. She'll go after them and kill all the famous people here! We have to stop her!"

Finally, I was going to get a fight.

"So what does Aphrodite want from Midoriko?" I asked, still not getting what we needed to get here.

"The fan," said Silena, eyeing the Asian fan in the woman's hand. "Hermes was suppose to deliver it directly to Aphrodite today, but he got sidetracked by Midoriko's beauty. She stole my mom's package and we need to return it to her."

"Okay," I said. "Let's go kill a demon."

Sneaking into Fashion Week was like getting into the White House oval house. Hard!

The moment we stepped up to the gate, a New York police officer came up to us and held up his hand in protest. I squinted at his nametag and it said _Officer Joe Bob_.

"Sorry," he grunted. "No kids allowed in. This is a private affair."

"But Officer Bob," said Silena, with a grin, "we're not just kids. And I'm sure you letting us into the tent won't be an issue."

"It will, young lady," said Officer Bob. "I could loose my job."

"We won't cause any trouble," said Silena, batting her eyelashes. "I promise."

Officer Bob looked dreary for a moment. He stood looking into Silena's eyes, almost dazed. Then, he stood up straight and moved the security lock off the gate and held out his arm to show us in.

"Thank you," said Silena, patting him on the shoulder.

"No trouble, remember," he called after us.

Silena and I broke into a short run through the crowd.

Midoriko stood by a doorway just as two chatting socialites walked by.

"I swear," the brunette said, "did you see Lady Gaga?"

"Yeah," said the redhead, "she looked like she just walked out of the dump with those tin lid shoulder pads and her wine bottle heels."

They giggled to each other. Midoriko looked at them out of the corner of her eye as they headed into an empty tent. She turned on her heel and slowly followed them.

"She's going after the girls," I said.

"Come on," said Silena, breaking into a run.

I had never followed a child of Aphrodite into battle, but I had to forget that Silena wasn't the typical Aphrodite girl.

The tent was big and had a runway down the middle. Chairs were folded along the side of it with big light fixtures on the ceilings. It looked like they hadn't set up yet. Thankfully they hadn't because I didn't want to be responsible for why Fashion Week didn't go on this summer.

And luckily, Midoriko didn't reach the socialites thanks to my stealthy moves. When I mean stealthy, I mean tripping over a cable and falling into a folded chair that set off a chain reaction with the rest of them like dominos.

Midoriko turned around. She towered over Silena and I, who helped me to my feet. Her eyes turned bright green and two tribal marks appeared on her cheeks. She gave a fanged grin.

"Ah," said the demon, "the son of Poseidon and daughter of Aphrodite. Powerful scents indeed. You will be delicious!"

"Not today, lady!" I said, uncapping Riptide.

"Like I'm scared of celestial bronze, half blood," said Midoriko. She raised her fan and gave it a flick. A gust of wind rose up around her and lashed out at us, sending us spiraling through the air. We crash landed on the runway and my sword skidded away from me.

"And here I thought a son of the Big Three would be a greater challenge," she sniped. "This will be great!"

I quickly lunged for Riptide, just as Midoriko sent another jet of wind spiraling toward me. I raised by sword and slashed the space in front of me. I could feel the air part like I had split it down the middle. Midoriko growled. She tightened her grip on the fan.

"You will not take my bounty!" said Midoriko. "Aphrodite doesn't deserve anything! She is a brat of a goddess who should be expelled from Olympus and I should reign as the goddess of love and beauty in her place!"

"No one will ever be prettier than my mom," said Silena, jumping off the cat walk. She ran toward Midoriko and tried punching and kicking, but the demon either dodged or deflected them. Silena was panting within minutes and I thought she would tire out, but she picked up a folded chair and threw it with all her strength at Midoriko. The demon woman laughed and with a flick of her fan, the chair rebounded and struck Silena down with a scream.

"No!" I shouted.

I watched as Silena lay unconscious on the floor. She had tried to fight-tried to be a hero and Midoriko was laughing like she was nothing. I got so mad.

"You want to laugh," I said. "Well, I'll give you something to laugh about!"

"I'm so scared," Midoriko grinned.

I jumped off the catwalk and ran toward her, Riptide at the ready. I slashed, but she ducked just in time. I tried again, but Midoriko was just to quick. I needed a way to slow her down. And then, I saw it. '

Just behind the catwalk was a table littered with a package of tiny water bottles. Guess models really down get thirsty after walking down that thing. I held out my hand and called the water to me. I felt a tug in my gut and watched as the caps popped off and the water soared to me into twenty streaming jets.

Midoriko wasn't smiling anymore.

"Try to stop twenty gallons of water," I said. Annabeth had once told me when Thalia and I had gotten into a sparring match, that if there is enough water pressure it could force air impacts that Thalia was sending at me back at her. I didn't try then because Thalia had kicked my butt, but this was Midoriko. Time to put Annabeth's brain to use!

I sent the water hurling at Midoriko and just as I had expected she waved her fan, sending air at the oncoming water. But when the air hit, the water didn't yield because I was forcing it to continue on its path. Midoriko looked shocked and tried several more times, but it was no use. The tug in my stomach was building and I let the water loose of my grip.

It exploded everywhere, splashing chairs, the catwalk, Silena, and Midoriko. She slipped on it and fell on her back, looking angry. I ran up to her, thankfully I didn't slip, and stabbed Riptide through her kimono and watched as she burst into dust and ash, leaving the fan untouched.


	9. I See My Reflection

Chapter Seven

I SEE MY REFLECTION

I had to wake Silena up. I could hear the police officers and other people coming. I could only imagine the headline in the New York Times: _Two Teens Trash Fashion Week, What A Splash!_ But unfortunately, waking up a child of Aphrodite was like waking up a sleeping giant, but in her case, sleeping beauty. I gave Silena a hard smack to the cheek and watched as her blue eyes flickered open. She took in a breath and sat up.

"What-what happened?" she said.

"Later," I said, grabbing the fallen fan. "We need to get this to your mom, quick!"

We didn't waste anytime. We got out of the tent thanks to a side exit and came out on the other side of Vine Street. Silena got us a cab and we headed back to the café where my friends and the goddess of love were waiting.

"You made it back!" cried Clarisse.

She ran at me like a love sick elephant and nearly crushed by ribs in a hug. I pushed her off and she bowed her head, a little sad. This was so weird and I was so ready for this day to be over.

"You're okay," said Annabeth, watching me as I neared the table.

"Of course he is!" said Aphrodite, getting to her feet. "I see you have my fan as well. That Midoriko is such nasty business. I didn't want to get involved in her sorted affairs. Thank you so much Percy and Silena."

"Your welcome, mom," said Silena, blushing. "Now, will you give us the Mirror of Evol. It's almost midnight."

I handed Aphrodite the fan and she flicked it open. In her other hand appeared a polished plate of bronze. On the front was glass so clean it looked like it sparkled. She handed it to Silena.

"You know the laws, my dear," Aphrodite told her looking her full in the face. "As the moon rises, say your hymn."

"I understand," said Silena, nodding her head.

Aphrodite rose to her feet and looked around.

"I thank you wonderful heroes for this lovely time in New York," she said, with a brilliant smile. "Now, I'm off to the after parties in Manhanttan! Ta at!"

And with that she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving us in an empty café.

The manager finally told us that he only stayed open because Aphrodite had asked him and was now forcing us out in the summer night. It was eleven thirty now and we had to get back to camp in thirty minutes or Clarisse would stay in love with me.

"We need a way to Camp Half-Blood," said Annabeth, "and quick!"

"I figured that," said a voice from across the street.

I hadn't even noticed the camp van sitting there, Beckendorf in the driver's seat and Grover riding shot gun.

"No way!" beamed Silena, rushing over to Beckendorf. "Charlie, how did you do this? Argus never let's anyone drive the camp van!"

"Well," said Beckendorf, "he has his hands full with Ara from Demeter's Cabin who strung him up in a tree so he wouldn't keep avoiding her."

"It's that bad," I said.

Clarisse blew a kiss at me.

Yeah, it was that bad.

We didn't waste anymore time and hoped in the camp van and Beckendorf raced off into the night.

By the time we had made it back to Camp, we only had five minutes left. We seriously sprinted up the hill to make it. I stared down into the valley and saw campers fighting, arguing, chasing each other around, and Chiron rushing around trying to gather them. We raced down the hill into the common's area.

"Silena," said Annabeth, pointing toward the sky, "you have to hurry. The full moon is in allignment with the stars."

"What?" I said, confused.

"It's a thing, Seaweed Brain," she said, hurriedly, "I will explain later."

"Here it goes," said Silena, raising the Mirror of Evol. I watched as the full moon reflected in the beautiful glittery glass. "_Great mirror look onto thee, bend thy will to the power of me, eyes of the fallen look up, and be free! No more be under this charm and be safe away from love's false arm!"_

The mirror began to glow a bright pink and every camper seemed to stop in their tracks to stare. The Ares kids began to glow pink too and I watched as jets of pink lights rose from their bodies and slammed into the mirror. Silena had to brace herself for the impact. Flashes of pink light sparked onto the ground as more love spells were broken on the Ares campers.

I looked at Clarisse and watched as she glew and her love spell fly away into the mirror.

She blinked hard and looked at her herself. Her face turned blood red and a vein pulsed in her temple.

"What the Hades am I wearing?" she screamed. "Who did this to me? I will pulverize them!"

Clarisse didn't remember anything that had happened.

"Calm down, child," said Chiron, trotting up. "All is well now. You all have succeeded!"

"What happened to my hair?" asked Clarisse, touching the bun and undoing it, letting her hair fall in a tangled mess around her shoulders.

"I liked it the way it was," I said, with a grin. And because it was funny now that Clarisse was back to normal, I decided to tell her what had happened. She looked angrier and angrier with each detail.

"Listen up, Prissy," said Clarisse, threateningly, "if you tell anyone what went down between us while I was under that spell, I will personally see to your dental work!"

And she walked off toward her cabin, ripping at her clothes as she went.

"Well," said Grover, "that was bracing."

"I guess that's as much love I'm gonna get from Clarisse," I said, relieved.

"The Mirror of Evol," said Chiron, staring down at the object in Silena's hands. "You should take it to the trophy room in the Big House. It's recovery deserves a great honor and a feast with a song in the amphitheater."

"I agree," said Beckendorf, clapping Silena on the shoulder. "You did great, Silena."

"Thanks, Charlie," she said, kissing him on the cheek. He looked a little shocked. "Will you come with me?"

"S-s-sure," he said, following her and Chiron toward the Big House, leaving Grover, Annabeth, and I alone.

"Well," said Grover, staring back and forth between Annabeth and I, "I should get going. Juniper will wonder where I've gotten off too!"

Now, we were completely alone.

"So," I said, glancing around, "are you gonna explain about the stars and stuff?"

"It's boring astronomy," said Annabeth. "You probably wouldn't be too interested."

"Hey, coming from the girl who spouts facts about every building," I said, with a grin, "I think I could stay awake through it."

Annabeth gave a small smile and looked at me. She was pretty in the moonlight.

"Come on," said she said, taking my arm in hers, and dragging me back up the hill, "I'm gonna give you a full lesson on the stars, and phases of the moon and why they have an impact on magic."

"Great," I said, letting myself be tugged away by her.

That night, just as I was getting in, I found someone on my bed. And it wasn't Goldilocks!

Aphrodite herself sat there in a beautiful night gown like she was ready to sleep right there with me. I have to say, it made me blush and I felt my throat get really dry.

"Hello, Percy," she said, standing up.

"A-A-A-Aphrodite," I stammered, "what are you doing in my bed?" I was supposed to say cabin, but bed came out first. Darn my ADHD!

"I'm here to personally say thank you," she said.

"No," I said, my voice dry as the Sahara. "You don't have too! Not important at all."

Aphrodite smiled and said, "A goddess always repays her debts. I sent you to face Midoriko and you returned my fan to me so the least I can do is give you a sneak peak into your future."

"My future," I said.

She went behind her and pulled out the Mirror of Evol that Silena had put in the Big House.

"You're mirror," I stared. "You're taking it back?"

"Yes," she said. "It has too much power to be locked away here at your camp. I'm sure Chiron will understand my taking it back. Anyway, I wish for you to have a look. Remember, this is a mirror of love. It can see your future love. Don't you wish to see if you will make it?"

No! I didn't want to see anything, but as Aphrodite raised the mirror, I felt my limbs get paralyzed and I had to look. And what I saw made my mouth drop.

I was sitting in a magnificent meadow. It was breezy and I was older. Not much, maybe five years or so. The meadow overlooked the sea as the sun was beginning to set. It was the most beautiful scenery every. And dare I say it, romantic. Then, someone joined me. Even though I was looking on, I could feel my future self's heart race as they approached.

A beautiful woman sat next to me. She had long black hair and brilliant green eyes that sparkled with power, almost like mine. She wore a short white dress and sandals. She stretched out next to me and intertwined her hand with my mine.

I didn't know who this woman was and just for a second, I hoped it would be Annabeth, but it wasn't.

When I removed my eyes from the mirror, Aphrodite and her mirror were gone.

I was alone and felt more confused than ever.

THE END


End file.
